Center Grove’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, ranked as the No. 16 recruit in the county on the 247sports composite, announced his decision on his Twitter account Friday. The 6-9 senior is considered a top contender for IndyStar Mr. Basketball this season.

It is another major in-state victory for Miller, who landed New Albany star and Mr. Basketball Romeo Langford in the 2018 class, along with McCutcheon point guard Robert Phinisee and South Bend Riley forward Damezi Anderson. Cathedral senior guard Armaan Franklin is also committed to Indiana for the 2019 class.

The Center Grove star was long considered a top target for Indiana, which appeared to have the inside track throughout his recruitment. Jackson-Davis, the biological son of former Clemson star and Indiana Pacer Dale Davis, had the entire Indiana staff watching him at last week’s game at Franklin Central, an indication of the Hoosiers’ recruiting priority.

► Versatile threat: Jackson-Davis has the talent to help right away, which is the expectation as a top-20 national recruit. He runs the floor well for a player his size and has evolved into a player who can not only run the floor and finish, but get out and lead the break. Jackson-Davis’ combination of size and athleticism and ability play inside and outside seems to fit perfectly with the modern game in college and the NBA.

“You watch guys like Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins and five years ago they were all big men who didn’t do anything on the perimeter,” Jackson-Davis said in a recent interview with the IndyStar. “You watch them now and they are all shooting from the outside like (Kevin Durant). The bigs have to do other things. I think that’s how colleges saw me as well. My freshman year I started block to block, sophomore year moved about 10 feet out, junior year moved out the perimeter and now do a little bit of everything.”

► Recruiting momentum: Miller, in his second year at Indiana, has already landed five in-state recruits since arrival at Indiana. And he might not be done in the 2019 class. Fort Wayne native Keion Brooks Jr., a 6-9 senior at LaLumiere, is the No. 22 prospect on the 247sports national composite. Brooks, who has taken official visits to Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA this fall, has a friendship with Jackson-Davis after the two played together on the EYBL circuit last spring and summer for Spiece Indy Heat.

“We talk a lot now,” Jackson-Davis said recently. “Quite often. We don’t talk about recruiting much, but we talk about everyday things like how their team is looking.”

Now that Jackson-Davis is committed to Indiana, those conversations might now include some recruiting talk.

Trayce Jackson-Davis, Center Grove High School, a member of the IndyStar High School boys Super Team.
Matt Kryger/IndyStar

► Fun personality: Jackson-Davis has not lived in a spotlight that shined as brightly as it did for Langford at New Albany. Langford would spend an hour after every home game signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. The hype surrounding Jackson-Davis has not been to that level, but the Center Grove standout seems to have the personality to handle life in the fishbowl as an Indiana recruit.

“He’s so much fun to be around,” Center Grove teammate Spencer Piercefield said recently. “At team dinners or whatever, he’s always making people laugh. People like hanging out with him. He’s a good teammate and always puts the team first. He doesn’t really talk about any of his recruiting stuff.”

► Worked for it: It is not like Jackson-Davis has come completely from nowhere considering his genetics, but he was not a heralded prospect as a freshman. After playing on the ‘B’ team in middle school, Jackson-Davis blossomed into a bigger prospect as he grew and improved. Purdue offered him as a sophomore and several more high-majors offered in the summer and fall before his junior season.

Jackson-Davis averaged 22.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.7 blocked shots and 2.8 assists per game to lead Center Grove to a second consecutive sectional championship as a junior.

“Something clicked where he said, ‘I have to bring it every time no matter who I’m playing,’” Center Grove coach Zach Hahn said. “Now he’s playing at the highest level all the time.”

► Big piece of the puzzle: Even if Jackson-Davis was not from Indiana he would be a big piece to the puzzle for Miller. There is a chance he could be a one-year college player before going to the NBA, though those projections and decisions are a long way off. But 6-9 players with athleticism like Jackson-Davis possesses are hard to find. Miller found one just 45 minutes from Bloomington.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

Buy Photo

Center Grove's Trayce Jackson-Davis is the top-ranked player in his class in the state.(Photo: Rob Baker/for IndyStar)